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Gaming loot boxes: What happened when Belgium banned them? (BBC News)

Video game loot boxes should be classed as gambling, says Commons (The Guardian)

The $24 Billion Online Casino Boom China Is Struggling to Halt (Bloomberg)

William Hill promotes digital boss to CEO in bid to be ‘digitally-led’ (The Guardian)

Sands China and Galaxy represented 45.5 pct of all gaming market results in H1 (Macau Business)

Casino giants crank up PR to snag first Japanese resort licenses (The Japan Times)

China respects Philippine sovereignty on POGOs: Manila (GGRAsia)

More…

At a Glance…

JAPAN:
Casinos Austria bids for Nagasaki
Casinos Austria has confirmed it is in the race for a casino license in Nagasaki prefecture, the most challenging and expensive of the Japanese potential casino destinations, and that its Japanese arm is in the process of forming a consortium

BELGIUM:
CAI loses online gambling licence
The Belgian Council Of States has annulled the online gambling licence of Casinos Austria International (CAI) – this will directly impact the ability of its sub-licensee Betway to operate in the Belgian market

MACAU:
Weather and protests affect revenue
Typhoon Lekima and Hong Kong protests are impacting August gaming revenues – average daily revenues recorded are flat and 8% lower than last year

U.K.:
Three cup trick scams tourists
As many as 14 gangs at one time have been occupying space under Westminster Bridge and trying to scam tourists out of thousands of pounds using the old “three cup trick” – local police have already made 30 arrests

GERMANY:
No sports betting licences for online casino operators
New sports betting licences, due to commence 1 January 2020, require companies to declare that they will not promote, operate or facilitate any kind of unauthorized gambling activity – the licences will be valid initially for eighteen months

U.S.A.:
Iowa could be third state in 2019 to legalise sports betting
Following a last minute debate the state of Iowa is expected to pass a bill allowing sports betting – so far Ameristar Casino Council Bluffs and Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino have applied for licences with a prospective August 15 launch

MACAU:
Offshore gambling allegations
Suncity Group has denied allegations, circulated in Chinese media, that the company has been supporting online gambling businesses – Suncity says it will not hesitate to seek legal action to protect its reputation

U.K.:
Casino 36 fined
Wolverhampton’s Casino 36 has been fined £300,000 by the Gambling Commission for failures in AML and social responsibility – personal management license holders also must undertake extra training